Bundesliga 2, Matchday 18: Darmstadt and Paderborn miss chance to close gap
The Bundesliga 2 promotion race is hotting up as leaders Schalke and Darmstadt were both held to draws, while Paderborn and Elversberg were beaten.
Holstein Kiel 2-0 Paderborn
Goals: 1-0 Skrzybski 19’, 2-0 Rosenboom 67’
Paderborn missed the chance to go second in the table in a game overshadowed by a nasty-looking injury to the visitors’ centre-back Calvin Brackelmann. Steven Skrzybski’s header put Kiel in front in the first half, with Lasse Rosenboom’s close-range finish doubling their advantage in the second. Play was stopped for nearly ten minutes towards the end of the contest following a collision involving Rosenboom and Brackelmann, who landed very awkwardly on his back before being carried off on a stretcher. The home side saw out the final stages to claim their sixth win of the campaign, lifting them up into tenth spot.
Bochum 3-3 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Hornby 7’, 1-1 Onyeka 11’, 2-1 Hofmann 27’, 2-2 Lidberg 36’, 2-3 Morgalla (o.g. 67'), 3-3 Marshall 82’
Neither side emerged victorious as Bochum and Darmstadt played out a six-goal thriller. Fraser Hornby fired the visitors into an early lead with a thunderous effort, but their advantage only lasted four minutes as Francis Onyeka restored parity with his third goal in two games. Philipp Hofmann then pounced on Marco Richter’s backpass, lofting the ball over Marcel Schuhen to put the hosts ahead before Isac Lidberg equalised with his 12th of the campaign. Leandro Morgalla’s unfortunate own goal then gifted Darmstadt the lead, but Callum Marshall’s late equaliser saw both teams share the points.
Kaiserslautern 3-1 Hannover
Goals: 0-1 Leopold 67’, 1-1 Prtajin 74’, 2-1 Şahin 90’+2’, 3-1 Skyttä 90’+5’Red card: Taibi 76’
Kaiserslautern were the only team in the top seven to pick up three points this weekend, coming from behind to beat Hannover in emphatic fashion. After an uneventful first-half, the visitors took the lead through Enzo Leopold midway through the second before Ivan Prtajin restored parity for the home side. Waniss Taïbi was sent off for a second bookable offence two minutes later, and Kaiserslautern eventually made their numerical advantage count as Semih Şahin fired home from close range in stoppage time. Naatan Skyttä then struck his ninth of the season to secure Lautern’s third win in four home games as Hannover recorded successive defeats.
Nuremberg 3-2 Elversberg
Goals: 0-1 Zimmerschied 39’, 1-1 Justvan 56‘, 1-2 Malanga 65‘, 2-2 Scobel 71‘, 3-2 Scobel 90‘+3
In the first game back after the winter break, mid-table Nuremberg downed high-flying Elversberg in a five-goal thriller. A clinical Tom Zimmerschied finish provided the visitors with a slender half-time lead, but Nuremberg reemerged after the break with a point to prove, equalising through Julian Justvan, before Jarzinho Malanga restored the visitors’ advantage. Making his first start, Piet Scobel headed in a leveller for the hosts minutes later. Otto Stange squandered the opportunity to win it for the visitors from the penalty spot late on, before Scobel added his second headed goal of the game in stoppage time to claim a dramatic win.
Preußen Münster 0-2 Karlsruhe
Goals: 0-1 Wanitzek 79’, 0-2 Wanitzek 87’ (pen)
Karlsruhe ended a six-game winless run with a clinical victory in Münster courtesy of a second-half Marvin Wanitzek brace. After a goalless first half during which the home side squandered chance after chance, the visitors began to gain a foothold in the match in the second period. They finally made the breakthrough in the 79th minute when Wanitzek curled a lovely free-kick over the wall and into the back of the net. Two minutes later, Paul Jaeckel was shown red. The away side subsequently made the most of their numerical advantage, sealing the points from the penalty spot through Wanitzek, who coolly stroked the ball home after Rafael Pinto Pedrosa had been fouled in the box.
Dynamo Dresden 2-0 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Keller 34’, 2-0 Lemmer 50’
Dresden leapfrogged Fürth off the foot of the table with just their fourth win of the season as they kicked off their 2026 survival push. Debutant Thomas Keller got the hosts a deserved lead after the half-hour mark before Jakob Lemmer doubled their advantage following the restart. An Omar Sillah effort off the post was a close as Greuther came, as Dynamo kept their first clean sheet of the campaign and prevailed in this relegation six-pointer.
In a huge promotion clash, both teams rather underwhelmed as the points were shared after a goalless draw. Hertha were certainly the better of the two teams and came close on a couple of occasions through Marten Winkler and then Linus Gechter at the death, but the hosts always found Loris Karius in the way. At the other end, Schalke created nothing and can be pleased to take a point in their hunt for promotion.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-0 Arminia Bielefeld
Goals: 1-0 Itten 86’
Fortuna earned three valuable points in their battle against the drop - and against a direct relegation rival at that - with a hard-fought victory on Friday. After a goalless first half, Cedric Itten struck late in the second with a header from Florent Muslija’s corner four minutes from time as Bielefeld’s winless streak stretched to six.
Eintracht Braunschweig 0-3 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 Zukowski 41’, 0-2 Atik 79’, 0-3 Breunig 90’
There was a potentially priceless win in the relegation context for Magdeburg as well, as they overcame fellow strugglers Eintracht Braunschweig. Mateusz Zukowski opened the scoring with his third goal in as many games, pouncing first on Ron-Thorben Hoffmann’s parry four minutes before the break. The visitors continued to apply pressure and were rewarded when Baris Atik struck, curling a wonderful effort beyond Hoffmann before Louis Breunig added a third late on.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 18
Click here for the latest Bundesliga 2 standings!
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